


I Chase Sparks at Midnight

by Adel Mortescryche (Mortescryche)



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Absent Characters, Alternate Universe - Canon, BAMF Ignis Scientia, BAMF Prompto Argentum, Can have long chapters as well, Creature Fic, Drabble Collection, Family, Friendship, Friendship is Magic, Gen, Prompto Argentum Needs a Hug, Protectiveness, Self-Harm, Team as Family, still waters run deep
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-28
Updated: 2018-11-11
Packaged: 2019-08-08 20:40:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16436393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mortescryche/pseuds/Adel%20Mortescryche
Summary: In another Eos, where Ardyn chose to manipulate Niflheim into experimenting withbothdaemonandcreature DNA, Prompto finds that he has to deal with puberty and the rise of strange scales on his body all at once.(Or: Prompto has Midgardsormr blood. And has to deal with the consequences - as do Noctis, Ignis and Gladio.)





	1. Prompto I

**Author's Note:**

  * For [VolxdoSioda](https://archiveofourown.org/users/VolxdoSioda/gifts).



> So Vol has been writing me dragon!Gladio shorts, which have been making my day. And I got this crazy idea about an AU 'verse where MTs don't have daemon blood but are, instead, experiments where human DNA has been merged with creature DNA. And what that could mean in the long run for Prompto.
> 
> Please take this idea with a pinch of salt, seeing as I'm still playing the game, and haven't yet gotten my grubby mitts on Episode Prompto. That said, if you're in the mood to see Midgardsormr!Prompto shenanigans, here you go! I don't plan to make these too long, but knowing me, we can start at 600 words and wind up at a 45k oneshot. Eheh.
> 
> No ships planned as of yet, but feel free to view with your shipping goggles. *winks*
> 
> \---
> 
> Seeing as I'm posting this on my mobile and can't post explanations in the tags:
> 
> CW for self harm, but the self harm isn't with intent to mutilate oneself. Let's just say that Prompto has a bad reaction to growing scales.
> 
> \--- 
> 
> Crossposted from Pf.

The scales were back.

Prompto had spent  _hours_ after getting home from school, scratching off the ones that were visible anywhere on his forearms or his neck and face. He wore his hair in heavy bangs so he would need to scratch too hard need his eyes – but his spectacles did a good job of hiding the worst of them.

It helped that most of the clothes he wore were baggy, anyway. And the fact that no one really spoke to him, outside of the few times the prince insisted on chatting with him.

He’d seen the looks on the rest of their classmates’ faces, wondering why the prince wasted time on someone like him, but Prompto wanted to laugh right in their faces, because  _hah,_ Noctis might have been a prince, but he wasn’t anywhere near as stuck up as the rest of their asshole classmates. You’d think he’d be an arrogant brat, but no, Prompto knew better. He was quiet, serious about his work, and about making sure that he upheld the image of the prince, but Prompto knew he was a good person beneath all of that.

He’d always been curious about the prince, much the same as anyone else, but it hadn’t been until Lunafreya’s mail that it had registered that Noctis was a person just like any other. Prompto might have gotten it into his head to lose weight before talking to him, if only they could interact on an equal basis, but Noctis had never put any conditions on their friendship.

 _Maybe he wouldn’t speak to you quite so nicely if he could see these scales,_ said a nasty voice inside his head.

Prompto stared himself down in the mirror, taking in the pale blue and purple scales nestled in the crooks of his arms, on the edges of his torso, crawling up his neck. The color was paler at the points where he’d scratched them off, and the skin was a little pink there, too, but at least it wasn’t as visible. He always wore a full length sweats when he went on his runs, so he was always well covered, and it wasn’t like anyone was ever home to see him wearing shorts and a tank.

Cor only showed up once in a blue moon; he wasn’t Prompto’s  _dad_ , he was just being nice to the weird orphan being looked after by the state.

Prompto abruptly shook his head, slapped both hands to his cheeks, and nodded gruffly at his reflection, ignoring the way his abused cheeks twinged in pain. This was just another obstacle, like the heaviness and the flab. Prompto would eat healthy, run till he dropped, and scratch off every one of the interlopers showing up on his skin as though they owned him. He’d show them who was boss!

Who cared if they hadn’t started growing until Prompto hit fifteen. Or that he’d been too scared to talk about them with Cor. Prompto didn’t need anyone, he could handle his life on his own. He’d managed perfectly so far, right?

Right.

So he nodded to himself again, and went to the kitchen to get out a knife, and maybe a comb from the dresser. He just hoped his skin wouldn’t wind up bleeding this time.

Or that tomorrow would be the day that Noctis looked too closely at him and asked about the marks on his skin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me **@adelmortescryche** on Tumblr and Pillowfort - come by and say hi! I don't bite.


	2. Noctis I

The thing is, Noct didn’t need much to be able to tell that there was something just the slightest bit  _off_ about his best friend.

It didn’t mean that his heart wasn’t in the right place. Because it was. Noct had seen him with baby animals, and the sweet smile that lit up his face when he realized that Noct was listening to him –  _actually_ listening to him, not what Noct did for the rest of their sycophantic classmates. Prompto was probably the closest thing to sunshine made human that Noct was ever going to come across any time soon.

That said, though, Noct suspected that Prompto couldn’t tell just how Other he seemed at times. It was the glint in his eyes, when he looked at other people. It had never shown up when he looked at Noctis, of course. But it had shown up constantly when they were in class, or on the field. It was why most of their middle school class had steered well clear of Prompto, except for the one boy who’d sat beside him, and who actually made the effort to talk to him.

It had shown up early on, when Noct had first introduced him to Ignis. But it had disappeared when Ignis had looked him up and down, from the tips of his fluffy chocobo blond hair to the messy, unlaced hightops he had on, sighed, and just said,  _take off your shoes before venturing into the apartment Master Prompto, and do wash your hands before dinner_. It had shown up again when he’d met Gladio for the first time, and had lasted right up till Gladio had offered to benchpress him and Noct, at the same time, just to settle a dare with one of the other Kingsglaive guards in the gym at the time.

It was like Prompto looked at the world, and everything in it, and something in him went, you’re so cute. Let me  _eat you right up._

Everything except the Zu, anyway. And maybe the Deadeye, though he seemed oddly agitated and irritable after that meeting and fight. The Bandersnatch by the Hammerhead had made him laugh with delight, when they first stumbled across it, insisted on all but leaning over the open void past the edge of the cliff, taking pictures with a manic grin.

He was just as terrified of snakes as he’d been when they were still kids in school, but the thing was, snakes were terrified of him too, these days. Which was just flat out  _weird._

But Noctis was willing to let it all go, in the end. Especially since it never really made a difference to the fact that Prompto had just stumbled into his life one lunch break, stuttering, and had never really left. So, who cared if he acted weird sometimes, or that he loved chocobos even when they were terrified of him, or that he liked meat as rare as hell on the really bad days. He was the best thing that had happened to Noct, Iggy and Gladio aside – so he  _didn’t care._

It would probably come back to bite him in the ass at some point, but whatever. He’d deal with it when he had to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to send me prompts for this one guys. It'll give me ideas to work off of.
> 
> \---
> 
> You can find me **@adelmortescryche** on Tumblr and Pillowfort - come by and say hi! I don't bite.


	3. Prompto II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt:** Sometimes

Sometimes Prompto wondered if he’d ever been born human. Or if he’d even been _born_ at all.

Who even knew. Maybe he’d been grown inside a tube filled with weird glowing water. Or he’d been put together by machines.

It was the barcode on his wrist, honestly. He’d have had to be _really_ dense to have missed that, growing up, but he’d always told himself to ignore it. Maybe the glaives had insisted on printing kids with barcodes when they were brought in from outside Insomnia! Or maybe it was a really weird birth mark. He used to come up with all sorts of outlandish stories for it, so he could forcibly ignore the most likely reason he had a _barcode tattoo._

It had gotten a whole lot harder to ignore once the scales had appeared, though.

The really bad nights, when he sat all alone in a messy house, no sound other than the purr of the air-con, he found himself staring at the particularly fragile looking scales that had appeared in the softer, more vulnerable areas of his flesh. Like the crook of his elbow. And he had to be realistic about it – no one normal grew _scales._

He barely spoke with anyone, outside of the boy who sat in front of him in class, but class and the internet had told him that, no, puberty didn’t go hand in hand with the growth of scales _._ Other growths, sure, but not scales.

That was why he wondered, sometimes, if he weren’t just some sort of lab experiment that Cor the Immortal had rescued from a mad scientist’s lair, and had then proceeded to dump in foster care. Pathetically enough, it wasn’t even good foster care; he’d practically been a house sitter for his guardians since he’d grown old enough to take care of himself. He never fessed up to Cor, who’d kept checking in on him right from the beginning – it had always felt too much like whining. And anyway, it wasn’t all bad. He had an entire apartment all to himself; what kid didn’t like that? And his guardians gave him all the money he could need to stay fed and comfortable.

…so maybe he got a little lonely while growing up. Sometimes. But Luna and Pyrna had helped with that. As had Noct.

But all the time alone had just given him more time to brood over being a lab experiment. Maybe he wouldn’t have gone straight to that possibility if it weren’t for the scales; hell, he’d been to the slums and the refugee districts of Insomnia before. It was a little hard to not notice how his specific blend of unhealthily translucent skin and pale or sun blond hair showed up a _lot_ in the Nif and Gralean refugees. Not so much amongst the folks hailing from Galahd or Lucis. Sure, maybe among the Tenebraen refugees, but somehow, Prompto couldn’t imagine himself being Tenebraen. Not when the only Tenebraens he had personal experience with were Lady Lunafreya and-

“Prompto?” A quiet voice called out, making him start, getting just a bit too close to the flames before a firm grip on his jacket wrenched him backwards.

Prompto blinked bemusedly up at Ignis, who predictably looked perfectly put together, even at stupid o’clock, while camping, and after crawling out of a tent. See, this was why Prompto couldn’t be Tenebraen. Luna was perfect, _obviously,_ and Ignis… Ignis was perfect too. If in a completely different way from Luna.

“Prompto,” Ignis repeated, a faint sigh coloring the name , and Prompto managed a sheepish grin.

“Sorry, Iggy. Got lost in my head for a bit, there.”

“Clearly.” Ignis replied, his lips tilting in a quiet smile, there and gone as he settled into the chair behind where Prompto was sprawled on the ground. Prompto eyed him warily, a sudden, sinking feeling making itself known in his gut.

“Did I wake you up?” he asked, and Ignis shot a sharp look at him before glancing away towards the fire.

“…No. I was simply thinking about the ferry, is all. We should go ask after it tomorrow morning, seeing as we got here as late as we did.” Ignis replied softly.

Prompto considered that carefully, before snorting, leaning back on his elbows.

“Liiie,” he drawled, his head lolling back so he could stare at Ignis upside down.

Ignis looked taken aback for a split second, though he recovered immediately, hand coming up so he could readjust his spectacles.

“Not wholly,” he admitted, after a moment, “I did, after all, worry about the ferry before we all turned in.”

“And then I somehow set your creepy assassin senses off, and you came out to stab the idiots that had tried to ambush us in the dark.” Prompto completed, and got himself a wry smile as a reward.

“Succinctly put, even if that isn’t quite how I would sum it up. Yes.”

“Igster you creepster.”

“ _Prompto.”_ The other man sighed, and Prompto found himself giggling, and trying to muffle the sound before he managed to wake up Gladio or, the Six forbid, _Noct._ His princeliness would be in a horrible mood if Prompto forced him to wake up before he completed his scheduled beauty sleep.

“Some tea? Or maybe some hot chocolate, I’m sure I have enough chocobeans and spices to make it the way you like.” Ignis offered, out of the blue, and Prompto shot him a surprised look before dissolving into a helpless smile.

“Sure, Ignis. I’d really like that.”

“Wonderful. Perhaps I could indulge as well. It _has_ been a while.”

Ignis got to his feet, but not before he covered Prompto’s shoulder with one glove covered hand, the grip sure and comforting. And then he was gone, heading to where he’d set up his stove earlier, calling no attention to the way Prompto had reflexively stiffened up before relaxing into his hold. Prompto found himself staring after the older man, face aching with how broad his smile had gotten.

He suddenly wasn’t feeling broody anymore. It was hard to wonder whether or not you were human when you had friends waking up to check on you and then offering to make you cocoa in the middle of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **AN:** I'm attempting NaNo this year, and this is one of the projects I'm working on for my word counts! **Feel free to suggest one word prompts** , I'll collect them and try writing something every day. I'm also working on two other FFXV fics, one time travel and the other dimension travel. And a few other things I'm hoping to get started on. 
> 
> So! A few things I'd like to cover for anyone who's new to my writing. I'm struggling with wrist trouble; I'd originally thought it was carpal tunnel syndrome, then an orthopedic suggested that it was nodules developing in both my wrists, and now I need to go to another orthopedic. For a second opinion. I have no clue what's up with them, but to sum it up, sometimes I'm just in too much pain to write as much as I would like.
> 
> Also, my grandma passed away less than a week ago. I actually started posting this drabble series to help distract me from how empty I'd been feeling. I'm better now, and writing again, but yeah, just wanted to put that out there.
> 
> Please leave a comment or kudos on your way out!
> 
> ___
> 
> You can find me [**@adelmortescryche**](https://adelmortescryche.tumblr.com/) \- come by and say hi! I don't bite.


	4. Ignis I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt 04:** Passion

**** For all that Ignis always seemed collected and quiet, he had more in common with his favored element than most acquaintances noticed.

It was, oddly enough,  _ hard _ for most people to reconcile fire with him in his daily life. Especially earlier on, when his father had first brought him to the Citadel, to introduce him to His Majesty, and then enroll Ignis to be trained with other Crownsguard hopefuls. Regis had never passed any judgement on Ignis, quietly watchful as Ignis first trained his body, then his mind, and finally stretched the mystical limb of magic he’d been supplied by the King.

“Only to help you train;” Regis had said, unexpectedly warm even back then, well before Ignis had truly settled into the role he’d been bred for. “You will be supplied magic by Noctis, once he is old enough. Until then, you and Gladio will both have to be satisfied with me, I’m afraid.”

Ignis hadn’t had much of a response to that. Not out loud, not back then, content to be seen and not heard, or not seen  _ or  _ heard. There was a  _ reason _ the Scientia had been respected and feared in equal measure, after all, when they were still welcome in Tenebrae. Ignis had been grateful for the opportunity to train a new weapon, one that he proved to have an unexpected level of affinity with, all the same. And the promise of one day serving the heir to the throne proved to be enough of a reason to keep polishing his edge. 

Ignis’ father had never been surprised, simply amused. It was the way of their House. All they needed was a light to follow and they would protect it to the ends of Eos, come hell, high water or the Wrath of the Six Themselves.

The Prince's fledgling retinue had proven to be more discerning than most, when Ignis grew to become one amongst them. 

Noctis was the first he'd been introduced to - and the young prince turned out to be everything Ignis had hoped for, once he learnt to look past the façade of a more lackadaisical Noble child. Noct wrapped arrogance around himself like well worn cloak; it was easy to miss the concern he felt for his father, the crownsguard and glaives, and the people of Insomnia. Ignis supposed that they made a good pair. The brat prince and his foreign valet.

His Royal Highness Noctis Lucis Caelum XIV and his Tenebraen Hand.

Gladio was the next. Gladio had been almost boorish the first time they’d met, a mulish scowl on his face and nothing but distaste for the prince they had to serve and protect. Ignis had easily held his tongue, recognizing that Gladio hadn’t yet learnt to judge people for who they were, underneath what they showed the world. The Amicitian heir was admirable, in that way - he wore his heart on his sleeve and walked forward with full faith in the martial might of himself and those he trusted to watch his back. Ignis had heard from his father that the Amicitia were as loyal to the throne of Lucis as the Scientia, but Ignis hadn’t truly believed it until he’d met first Clarus and then Gladio. 

The day Gladio finally accepted Noctis was the day that he finally figured out that Ignis… wasn’t just a valet. Ignis had quietly made his way into the training rooms in the middle of the night, the day after Iris and Noctis had gone missing. As expected, he found Gladio busy swinging one of the heavier practice swords; training to bear the weight of a greatsword, as always. It didn’t take much to sneak up behind him, and neatly press the blade of one of his knives right beneath the swell of his Adam’s apple, snug against his jugular.

Gladio choked, and didn’t move a muscle. He’d been well trained enough that he could tell just how little effort it would take Ignis to end him right there. Ignis held him at that point, savoring the potential of it, before neatly stepping back and allowing the dagger to shatter, returning it to the Armiger. Another step to the side, just as neat, and Gladio’s blade sped past him, the attack more reflexive than anything else. Gladio’s grip on the blade actually slipped when he realized who had snuck up behind him.

“We’re to work together, you and I,” Ignis had said, mild, paying no attention to how far the other teen’s jaw sagged. “And it’s well past due that you started paying attention to a little more apart from your personal training.” 

“...Scientia?” Gladio had mumbled disbelievingly. 

Ignis had eyed him for a long moment, and then sighed, pushing his spectacles further up on his nose. 

“Perhaps I moved too soon…” he’d mused out loud, just to see what reaction it would net him.

The words had worked like a charm. Gladio roused himself with a shake of his head, scowling at Ignis and looking enough like a lowing kujata calf that Ignis had been hard-pressed not to smile.

“You’re not just the Council Scribe and Citadel appointed driver, then.” Gladio had said, firm after having had reason to change his take on the situation. “You’re another guard.”

“Yes, well. The Prince’s Hand in training, to be specific,” Ignis had corrected, mild, and allowed the smile to unfurl across his lips when that made Gladio go pale beneath his tan.

“Ah,” Gladio had said, voice faint, “I see.”

“Excellent,” Ignis had replied. “That should make our work easier.”

But where his relationship with both Noctis and Gladiolus had been relatively easy to navigate, predictable in that all their roles had been pre-planned, at least to some extent, Prompto had been unexpected on all counts. First in that a civilian had worked their way far enough under the prince’s skin that he actually  _ followed him home.  _ And not to the little apartment where Noct played at being an independent adult, no, but home all the way to the Citadel, well after they were done with high school. And then had  _ continued to stay there,  _ not out of any interest in clinging to the prince, but instead out of a genuine need to be there for Noctis.

And as if that weren’t a rare enough trait all on its own, Ignis had found that Prompto was as much a predator as he himself was, simply hidden in the garb of a civilian, just as Ignis made it a point to hide himself away behind his well pressed shirts and trousers, suspenders and oxfords. They were two of a kind, ghosting along amongst the herd, caring for it, but always having the ability to cull it if necessary.

Except that… the boy never seemed to be aware of it himself. The predatory instinct had been there, even back when the prince and prompto had both been in elementary school. Ignis had been able to read the intent in his eyes, their sharpness catching his attention even in spite of how out of shape Prompto’s outer body was. Ignis had been curious then, but his watchfulness had paid off over the years when Prompto finally came forward to freely greet Noctis as his friend.

Gladio had been doubtful when Prompto voiced his intentions to join the Crownsguard, just so he could help safeguard Noct. Ignis, though? Ignis hadn’t doubted him one bit. If anything, he was relieved that the boy was finally showing his true colors. 

One more predator in the retinue to help safeguard Noctis could not go amiss. They could leave the lumbering and the loud displays to Gladio, holding his ground as shield at the forefront, while they ghosted along the sides to take out the more dire threat before it could even come close to their prince.

Ignis favored fire, over all else. He’d always had an easier time manipulating that element over the others. He’d heard the other Crownsguards, and the glaives that had trained them, snickering over how little Ignis resembled his favorite element. Ignis supposed they never remembered that fire could kill insidiously, in the power of a spark blowing on the breeze through drylands,  just as easily as it could burn down a city in the violence of a wildfire.

Ignis could be both. He simply enjoyed making people think he was incapable of conflagration.

He supposed Prompto enjoyed people underestimating him just as much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **AN:** Hello! I will go and get to responding to comments right after posting this. My laptop has been giving me trouble. It's been randomly restarting) so I have been having some. Pain. Anyway, this was successfully completed!
> 
> **Again, please feel free to suggest one word prompts!** I will collect them with the ones I already have for my nano writing. I used one of the prompts suggested by **Shiary** for this drabble. 
> 
> So Vol, Sei and I were all pretty gleeful about the thought of Assassin!Ignis being canon. Therefore, have some mild worldbuilding and headcanons inserted into the fic. This was already pretty AU anyway, eheh.
> 
> Please consider leaving kudos and comments on your way out!
> 
> \---
> 
> You can find me **[@adelmortescryche](https://adelmortescryche.tumblr.com/)** \- come by and say hi! I don't bite.


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